Unit 5 Blog: Subtle Mind Exercise

Hello My Fellow Bloggers!,

I found this exercise to be a little easier than the loving kindness exercise although I enjoy them both this one seemed almost the opposite as the other one. The Loving Kindness exercise required a lot of visualization such as imagining the suffering of loved ones and embracing enemies. It also required us to love ourselves while the subtle mind exercise only asked us to be ourselves but our deeper selves not our busy selves! 

I had mixed experiences during the exercise. I used the rising and falling of my chest as my focal point and I did find it was rather easy to come back to that focal point when my mind would wonder. My biggest frustration is that I kept telling myself thoughts and emotions to remember to include in my blog, this made it really hard to reside in the stillness and the funny thing is I don't remember much of what I was telling myself lol! 

I could definitely see the difference between grasping and witnessing. I would grasp to thoughts about the blog and I even found myself grasping to thoughts about Native Americans because I really enjoyed the Native American music in the background. I found my mind wondering, "What tribes of Indians lived by the oceans when Europeans came?, could I have been a Native American in a past life?, Where can I buy Native American Music? What would my Indian Name be, maybe Wondering Mind?". LOL, then I'd wonder further, "How can I share this exercise on facebook"? Oh boy did I grasp and cling and wonder! Then I would become aware of it and go back to my breaths. 

At one point I think I may have actually been stabilized in the stillness too! I became so relaxed and envisioned a canyon with a river flowing through it and waterfalls. My mind was completely clear but focused on that image which seemed so real, then the woman's voice came on and scared the holy you know what outta me! I admit that I couldn't finish the whole recording. I had six minutes left when my restless mind took over and I just had to get up. Still, it was pretty neat and I imagine now that my blog will be done I can truly relax next time I try it. 

Having spiritual wellness helps us to connect to the divine. We realize that we are more than a body and we don't have to fear death. As the text mentions, when we are spiritually well it is easier to develop a higher consciousness and, "an ease and lightness enter our life and cleanse our mind and body" (Dacher, 2006, p. 86). 

This has manifested itself increasingly in my life especially since the beginning of this class. I admit and you may even be able to tell from my posts that I was very stressed out and a little angry at the chaos in my life but now I am noticeably calmer. I think I've developed a closer relationship with my inner self. I pay more attention to my attitude, emotions, actions, and behavior. I feel better mentally and physically and my body feels more relaxed and healthier as I have even stopped eating so much to mask stress. 

Thanks for reading, 

Heidi Waldman

Reference

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications Inc.

Unit 4 Blog Entry. Loving Kindness and mental workout

Hello Everyone,


I put the loving kindness track on my Ipod. I have only had the chance to listen to it twice this week but I find that after work it really helps me to release stress and to relax. I also try to remind myself throughout the day to not only project love to others but to project love to myself. I find it works better when I imagine Jesus and his love. It sounds bad but the most difficult thing I find is embracing even my enemies and projecting love and kindness to them only because a few people have hurt me so badly, but I know if I can work on letting go of that pain and anger it can heal my own soul and really help me to better help others. So that is what I am working on, loving my enemies and loving myself.

 It is true at times I have been my own worst enemy so that is difficult as well but I will keep trying. I imagine my father's suffering during the exercise as he just had surgery on his neck and had to get all his vertebrae fused together. I pray that my outbreath of love and joy and healing projected at him is really helping. Yes, I would recommend this to others as you really can feel changes being made in one's self, I could especially see this with more practice.

The concept of a mental workout is that through daily practice and perseverance we can work out our minds just as daily exercise works out our bodies. Mental workouts can lead to a higher more expanded consciousness. The proven benefits of a mental workout is a trained mind. Research shows that, "advanced contemplatives have gained the capacity to permanently enhance their well-being by altering the brains neural circuitry" (Dacher, 2006, p. 63). Working out our minds leads to better insight, attention, memory and perception among other things (Dacher, 2006).

I can implement mental workouts by practicing loving kindness each day. I have not had a lot of time lately, it seems I am constantly playing catch up but I know that is not a very good excuse. Although I can't do one hour each day; at least not right now, I know that even five minutes a day can make a difference. I am working hardest on skillful action right now. I find that changing my own thoughts and behavior to be more positive has already made my life and interactions more enjoyable and my heart feels lighter <3.

Heidi Waldman

Reference

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications.

Reflection on a relaxation exercise

Listening to the relaxation recording and taking part in the exercise was amazing and even a little strange! I was amazed to find that fifteen minutes had gone by as the recording ended and I came back to reality. I did indeed find my arms and hands to be heavier and warmer as I suggested the blood flow to those areas. Strangely enough I even found myself switching a little lol! I also came out of the relaxation exercise feeling more energized which was strange considering how completely relaxed I was. I feel better now because I have to admit trying to figure out all of this blogging stuff did make me a little frustrated and stressed out lol! 

I have always known that the mind can have an effect on the body but it was nice to put that into practice. With three kids it is hard to find the time to enjoy such things. I am glad this course made that a requirement :). I am going to recommend this recording to my grandmother who has serious problems with the blood circulation in her legs which puts her in a ton of pain. I think it could really make a difference.Here is a link to some nice Relaxation Music. 

Welcome Statement

Hi there! Welcome to my blog! I am new to blogging so this will be interesting! I will be sharing my journey through a course on psychological and spiritual aspirations of healing and creating wellness. I will also share a little about my amazing family. My husband and I have been together since I was 17 going on 13 years now! We have a 13 year old son named Isaiah, an eight year old daughter named Dezarae, and a 7 year old son named Cylus. God has truly blessed me with a beautiful family. I will also share a little about my job as a Mental Health Associate at a residential treatment facility for children with behavioral and emotional disorders. I am hoping this course will help me to further help the children I work with and to become more wholly healthy myself :).